Houston hires Williams as manager

HOUSTON -- Jimy Williams was quick to accept the Houston Astros' offer to manage the club -- and sidestep a question about the team's playoff woes under Larry Dierker.

Williams, fired by the Boston Red Sox in August, became the Astros' 13th manager Thursday, a day after agreeing to a three-year contract with general manager Gerry Hunsicker.

''Gerry called and offered the job and I said I'd sleep on it,'' Williams said. ''I called him back in 45 minutes and told him I was a fast sleeper.''

Dierker resigned two weeks ago after leading the Astros to four division titles in five years but losing in the first round of the playoffs each time.

Williams, who led the Red Sox to the playoffs in 1998 and 1999, wouldn't promise the Astros would improve on their 2-12 playoff record under Dierker.

''If you start making statements that you can't back up, you're in trouble,'' Williams said.

Williams was fired during his fifth season as Red Sox manager. He had a 414-352 record. The Red Sox dropped out of first place in the AL East after the All-Star break and Williams was dismissed after the team lost six of seven games.

Williams had a celebrated feud with Red Sox outfielder Carl Everett during his final season in Boston and Dierker departed saying he couldn't get some of the Astros to buy into his managing ideas.

Williams would offer no clues how he would handle the Astros clubhouse.

''We all have challenges and that's great because it means we're still alive,'' Williams said. ''Any challenge that we have will remain in the clubhouse. That's where it will stay.''

''When you talk to players, here's how they think: Something happens during the course of the game and maybe they don't necessarily agree with the manager did, they'll say to themselves, 'What is the hell is he doing?'

''But you know, I say to them, 'You know what, sometimes I watch you guys play out there and I say, 'What the hell is he doing?' So we're equal. We're just trying to win. The main thing is to be solid in the clubhouse. Keep things together in the clubhouse.''

Hunsicker thinks the Astros are close to being a successful playoff team.

''There are not many teams out there that have done what we've done,'' Hunsicker said Thursday, ''so we needed somebody to take us to that next level.''

The Red Sox reached the American League championship series in 1999, where they lost to the New York Yankees. Williams was AL manager of the year in 1999.

In his previous job, Williams was fired by the Toronto Blue Jays in his fourth season as their manager in 1989, when the team started 12-24.

Hunsicker praised Williams' ability with young players, which fits in with the Astros youthful roster.

''He still feels you can teach at the major league level,'' Hunsicker said. ''So many managers talk about what you can't do as opposed to Jimy, who feels you can still teach in the big leagues and he talks about what he will do.

''My goal is to give Jimy the right kind of players and if we both do our jobs, we can go to the World Series.''